Region

DAMASCUS — Syrian forces were clashing with gunmen loyal to an Assad-era special forces commander in Latakia on Thursday, the province's security director said, after authorities reportedly launched helicopter strikes.

The port city of Latakia and the rest of Syria's Mediterranean coast are the heartland of the ousted president's Alawite minority and were considered bastions of support during his rule.

"The armed groups that our security forces were clashing with in the Latakia countryside were affiliated with the war criminal Suhail Al Hassan, who committed the most heinous massacres against the Syrian people," the security director told state news agency SANA.

Nicknamed "The Tiger", Hassan led the country's special forces and was frequently described as Assad's "favourite soldier". He was responsible for key advances by the Assad government in 2015.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had earlier reported "strikes launched by Syrian helicopters on armed men in the village of Beit Ana and the surrounding forests, coinciding with artillery strikes on a neighbouring village".

SANA reported that militias loyal to the ousted president had opened fire on "members and equipment of the defence ministry" near the village, killing one security force member and wounding two.

Alawite leaders later called in a statement on Facebook for "peaceful protests" in response to the air strikes, which they said had targeted "the homes of civilians".

Tensions erupted after residents of Beit Ana, the birthplace of Suhail al-Hassan, prevented security forces from arresting a person wanted for trading arms, the Britain-based Observatory said.

Security forces subsequently launched a campaign in the area, resulting in clashes with gunmen, it added.

The Observatory said it could not verify the identity or affiliation of the gunmen.

The tensions erupted after at least four civilians were killed during a security campaign in Latakia, the monitor said on Wednesday.

Security forces launched the campaign in the Daatour neighbourhood on Tuesday after an ambush by "members of the remnants of Assad militias" killed two members of the security forces, state media reported citing security sources.

Islamist rebels led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham led a lightning offensive that toppled Assad on December 8.

The country's new security forces have since launched extensive campaigns seeking to root out Assad loyalists from his former bastions.

WASHINGTON — The United States on Wednesday confirmed unprecedented direct talks with Hamas on hostages, as Israel threatened to renew its military campaign in Gaza despite a fragile ceasefire.
The White House said that President Donald Trump's envoy on hostage affairs, Adam Boehler, held the talks which focused on Americans among the remaining hostages in Gaza.

"Israel was consulted on this matter," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.
"Look, dialogue and talking to people around the world to do what's in the best interest of the American people is something that the President" believes is right, she said.
The United States had refused direct contact with the Palestinian militants since banning them as a terrorist organization in 1997.

But Leavitt said that the hostage envoy in his role "has the authority to talk to anyone."
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office confirmed Israel was consulted and said in a statement that it "expressed its opinion" on direct talks.
The talks were first reported by Axios, which said Boehler met with Hamas in Qatar about the US hostages but also as part of a longer-term truce.

Five Americans are believed to remain among the hostages seized in the massive October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. Four of them have been confirmed dead and the other, Edan Alexander, is believed to be alive.

Warning by Israel

The first phase of a ceasefire ended over the weekend after six weeks of relative calm that included exchanges of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
While Israel has said it wants to extend the first phase until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the war.

But Israel announced at the end of the first phase that it was halting all entry of goods and supplies into Gaza, which has been reduced to rubble after the relentless year and a half of Israeli operations.
"Hamas has indeed suffered a severe blow, but it has not yet been defeated.

The mission is not yet accomplished," Israel's new military chief Eyal Zamir warned.
His remarks echoed warnings by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of "consequences that you cannot imagine" if Hamas does not hand over hostages.
Of the 251 captives taken during Hamas's attack, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.

France, Britain and Germany jointly Wednesday called the humanitarian situation in Gaza "catastrophic," and urged Israel to ensure the "unhindered" delivery of aid.

South Africa said Israel's restriction of aid into Gaza since the weekend amounted to using starvation as a weapon of war.
The Hamas assault resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, while Israel's military retaliation in Gaza has killed at least 48,440 people, also mostly civilians, data from both sides show.

Trump on Wednesday threatened further destruction of Gaza if all remaining hostages are not released, and issued an ultimatum to Hamas leaders to flee.
Strongly backing Israel as a ceasefire teeters, Trump said he was "sending Israel everything it needs to finish the job" as his administration expedites billions of dollars in weapons.

"Release all of the Hostages now, not later, and immediately return all of the dead bodies of the people you murdered, or it is OVER for you," he wrote on his Truth Social platform after meeting freed hostages.
"This is your last warning! For the leadership, now is the time to leave Gaza, while you still have a chance."

Trump also made clear there would be repercussions for Gaza as a whole, where virtually the entire population has been displaced by Israel's relentless military campaign in response to the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.

"To the People of Gaza: A beautiful Future awaits, but not if you hold Hostages. If you do, you are DEAD!"

BEIRUT — Lebanese official media said two people were wounded Wednesday when Israeli drones struck a vehicle in the south, a day after a deadly raid and despite an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

"Israeli drones carried out more than one strike on a vehicle in Ras Naqura, near a rubbish dump" south of a United Nations peacekeeping position, the National News Agency (NNA) said.

"Two siblings who were collecting scrap metal" were wounded and taken to hospital, it added.

The strikes come a day after Israel's military said it killed a Hezbollah navy commander in the south, accusing the slain militant of violating the November 27 ceasefire.

The truce largely halted more than a year of hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, including two months of full-blown war during which Israel sent in ground troops.

Israel has continued to carry out strikes on Lebanese territory since the agreement took effect.

Israel was due withdraw from Lebanon by February 18 after missing a January deadline, but it has kept troops at five locations it deems "strategic".

The ceasefire also required Hezbollah to pull back north of the Litani River, about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the border, and to dismantle any remaining military infrastructure in the south.

Last week, Defence Minister Israel Katz said Israeli forces would remain indefinitely in what he called a "buffer zone" in south Lebanon.

PARIS — France, the United Kingdom and Germany Wednesday urged Israel to ensure the "unhindered" delivery of humanitarian supplies to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory of Gaza, warning against using aid as a "political tool".

A fragile ceasefire since January 19 saw an influx of humanitarian aid into Gaza, before Israel on Sunday announced it was blocking deliveries until Palestinian militant group Hamas accepted its terms for an extension of the truce.

"We call on the government of Israel to abide by its international obligations to ensure full, rapid, safe and unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to the population in Gaza," the countries said in a joint statement.

"A halt on goods and supplies entering Gaza such as that announced by the government of Israel would risk violating international humanitarian law," they said.

"Humanitarian aid should never be contingent on a ceasefire or used as a political tool."

The three European nations described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "catastrophic".

The Gaza ceasefire deal's first phase ended over the weekend after six weeks of relative calm. They included exchanges of Israeli hostages taken when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023 for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

While Israel has said it wants to extend the first phase until mid-April, Hamas has insisted on a transition to the deal's second phase, which should lead to a permanent end to the war.

Of the 251 hostages taken on that date, 58 remain in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military has confirmed are dead.

"It is vital that the ceasefire is sustained, all the hostages are released, and continued flows of humanitarian aid to Gaza are ensured," the three European nations said.

"All hostages must be unconditionally released and Hamas must end their degrading and humiliating treatment," they added.

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM/JENIN – New Israeli armed forces chief Eyal Zamir said during his inauguration Wednesday that Israel's mission to defeat Palestinian group Hamas was "not accomplished".

"I accept command of the [Israeli military] with modesty and humility... Hamas has indeed suffered a severe blow, but it has not yet been defeated. The mission is not yet accomplished," Zamir said, amid deadlock in negotiations on next steps in a ceasefire with Hamas in Gaza.

Speaking before Zamir at the ceremony at military headquarters in Tel Aviv, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told him that Israel is "determined" to achieve victory in the multi-front war that began with Hamas's October 2023 attack.

The Israeli military announced Tuesday it had expanded its weeks-long offensive in the occupied West Bank to more areas of Jenin city, saying troops killed three although Palestinian officials reported two dead.

On its 43rd day, Israeli forces "expanded the counterterrorism operation in northern Samaria to additional areas in Jenin", the military said, using the Biblical name for that part of the West Bank.

It said that a local Hamas leader and another Palestinian militant were killed in an exchange of fire with troops during an overnight raid in Jenin. 

Jenin governor Kamal Abu Al Rub told AFP that two Palestinians were killed during the raid in the eastern neighbourhood of the city.

"Two citizens were martyred, and many young men were arrested", he said.

The military said troops had arrested three Palestinian suspects.

The Palestinian health ministry identified one of the dead as Aser Saadi, matching the name of the Hamas leader in the Israeli army statement.

The health ministry said the 21-year-old's body was taken away by troops after he was shot.

The head of the Jenin government hospital, Wisam Baker, told AFP that a man identified as Jihad Alawneh was declared dead on arrival at the facility early on Tuesday.

Baker said that Alawneh, 25, had bled out after being shot in the thigh.

Governor Abu Al Rub said the raid had caused "devastation and massive destruction" in Jenin's eastern neighbourhood, "which has not experienced an Israeli assault like this before".

He said that the main electricity line was cut off, dozens of families were forced to leave, and army bulldozers had left behind a trail of damage.

 'Massive destruction' 

The Israeli offensive in the northern West Bank began on January 21 around refugee camps regarded as bastions of Palestinian militancy, but has since expanded to more areas, displaced tens of thousands of people and saw the first deployment of Israeli tanks in the territory in 20 years.

On Tuesday afternoon, an AFP journalist said Israeli troops and armoured personnel carriers were still in Jenin's eastern neighbourhood.

Firefighters worked to extinguish a fire in an apartment hit during the raid, its facade charred and some of its walls destroyed.

Pools of blood had accumulated in several rooms of the apartment, the journalist said.

Abu Al Rub said that "more than 50 families were forced to flee and evacuate their homes because the Israelis took over their houses and buildings, turning them into military barracks".

"All the streets in the eastern neighbourhood were bulldozed", said the governor, including areas that before Tuesday did not see army bulldozers ripping through roads in what the military says aims to clear explosives.

Bassem Hardan, a resident of the neighbourhood, told AFP that after initially ignoring army calls for his family to leave, "they called our neighbours and told them to get out within two minutes before they demolish the building".

Dubbed "Iron Wall" by the Israeli military, the operation in the northern West Bank began days after a ceasefire took effect in Gaza, a separate Palestinian territory.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967 and its troops carry out regular raids there.

The ongoing operation has involved raids in multiple refugee camps near the cities of Jenin, Tulkarem and Tubas, where Palestinian armed groups have a strong presence.

CAIRO — Arab leaders called Tuesday to unify Palestinian ranks under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, a move that could sideline Islamist militant group Hamas which is not a member.

A final statement of the Arab League summit in Cairo, seen by AFP, welcomed "the Palestinian decision to form a Gaza administration committee under the umbrella of the Palestinian government, made up of competent individuals from the [Gaza] Strip for a transitional period in parallel with working to enable the national [Palestinian] Authority to return to" the war-battered territory, ruled by Hamas since 2007.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi said Tuesday that Arab leaders endorsed his country's plan for the reconstruction and development of war-torn Gaza.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Tuesday that the Palestinian Authority would reassume control over the Gaza Strip under a post-war plan announced by Arab leaders.

Abbas said in his opening remarks at an Arab League summit in Cairo that his administration could assume "its duties in the Gaza Strip through its governmental institutions, and a working committee has been formed for this purpose".

Syria's interim President Ahmed Al Sharaa was in Cairo Tuesday for the Arab League summit on Gaza, his first such meeting since ousting longtime ruler Bashar Al Assad nearly three months ago.

Sharaa arrived "to attend the extraordinary Arab summit in Cairo on developments on the Palestinian issue", state news agency SANA reported.

The Syrian presidency published images of Sharaa meeting with senior officials including United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Abbas and European Union chief Antonio Costa on the sidelines of the summit.